Grand Slam hits the one-year mark as book collection growsDenise Duncan, co-owner of Grand Slam Toys & Books, sees a lot more books on the shelves in the near future. “I definitely want to make our book section a lot bigger. I want a huge book section because we’re lacking that in Kodiak,” Duncan told the Mirror at Grand Slam’s first anniversary event on June 21. A few dozen people attended the store’s first birthday party, or “carnival” as Duncan called it. The event, h...

Films draw out emotion, memoriesTen students made five-minute films about the Exxon Valdez oil spill’s impacts on Kodiak, and showed them at the Kodiak Public Library on Sunday. Each film tackled a unique topic or angle such as lawsuits, effects on Natives and their subsistence life, a videographer’s memories, a fisherwoman’s memories, lessons for the future, effects on fisheries, and social effects on the community. The Exxon Valdez went agroun...

Kodiak’s Post 17 loses squeaker to ServiceKodiak Post 17 suffered its toughest loss of the season Monday against Service. The Cougars rallied for four runs in the final two innings that snapped the Bears' three-game winning streak with a 6-5 win in an American Legion AA conference baseball game at Taylar Young Field in Anchorage. Service scored the winning run off a Kodiak error — one of five on the night — with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. "The...

Ever-changing: the number of Alaskan glaciers A glaciologist once wrote that the number of glaciers in Alaska “is estimated at (greater than) 100,000.” That fuzzy number, perhaps written in passive voice for a reason, might be correct. But it depends upon how you count. Another glaciologist saw an example of the confusion when he visited Yakutat Glacier. Yakutat, near the Alaska town of the same name, is a withering glacier that calves into a deep lake of its...

Ever-changing: the number of Alaskan glaciers A glaciologist once wrote that the number of glaciers in Alaska “is estimated at (greater than) 100,000.” That fuzzy number, perhaps written in passive voice for a reason, might be correct. But it depends upon how you count. Another glaciologist saw an example of the confusion when he visited Yakutat Glacier. Yakutat, near the Alaska town of the same name, is a withering glacier that calves into a deep lake of its...

Anchorage airport bust stops heroin headed for KodiakAlaska State Troopers reported Tuesday a woman trying to bring in black tar heroin to Kodiak was apprehended and charged in Anchorage. A statement from AST reported that the woman was arrested at the airport with roughly 20 grams of black tar heroin with a “Kodiak street value of approximately $14,000.” “The seizure occurred at the Anchorage Airport from a female passenger en-route to Kodiak on a local air carrier...

Missile complex looking at August launch, more future workThe U.S. Army confirmed scheduling a test launch of a hypersonic weapon at the Kodiak Launch Complex sometime in August. “I can confirm a test of the Advanced Hypersonic Weapon Flight Test-2 Hypersonic Technology Test is scheduled for August 2014 from the Kodiak Launch Complex,” John H. Cummings III, Public Affairs for the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command told the Mirror. An exact date has not been re...

June declared Filipino-Americans monthCiting their “vital contributions to the economic, social, political, and cultural quality of life in the community,” Kodiak Island Borough Mayor Jerrol Friend declared June to be Filipino-American Heritage Month in Kodiak. At the borough’s regular meeting on Thursday, the proclamation read by Friend added that Kodiak was “made up of a wonderful mosaic of culturally diverse people.” Filipino-American Association o...

June 4, 2014• At 12:52 a.m., someone called to report suspicious circumstances on Mill Bay Road. Police checked the area and did not find signs of anyone. • At 12:53 a.m., police served papers at the jail. • At 1:06 a.m., police conducted a security check on Egan Way. • Around 1:24 a.m., police conducted two bar checks downtown. • At 2:01 a.m., police arrested a man on Thorsheim Street for driving with his license revoked, vi...

Borough assembly passes nonprofit funding The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly passed a resolution funding nonprofits at their June 19 meeting amid lengthy discussion and a failed substitution amendment. Twenty-five nonprofits applied for funding. Under the resolution, 17 nonprofits received funding and eight did not due to their applications either being late or missing required information, according to a memo accompanying the resolution. Assembly member ...